Overheating
 

Alright, I was coming home from work today and I noticed my car was running pretty damn hot, the needle was ta the "L" of normal on the temp gauge. So I Pulled over, popped the hood and sat tehre and let her cool to below the "N". Then I started her up again and drove home. Now nomaril the needle says between the "N" and "O", and all the way home it was between the "O" and "R". It never got higher than that point all the way home. Now could this overheatin be becauise of a dreaded head gasket failure, or something simple such as the fan not working or low coolant, which i checked and it wasnt low at all. I know its not the T-sat because I just replaced that like a month ago, so I dont think is that...ALso, it is 46*C degress today, so that may help

What year/engine? Judging by your name, it's a '94-'04, which would mean it has an electric fan, an inoperative fan is most likely the problem, either an electrical problem, or bad fan motor. If it's a V8, they're not too common to have head gasket problems.

its a 95 sixer, and 94-96 are notorious for head gasket problems, and so far mine hasnt had one, but it does have 216xxxkm on it

Yes, they are known for that, is there any coolant in the oil? any misfiring, especially when restarting shortly (15min.) after a hot shut down? coolant level gone down? do you smell coolant when it's running? smells sweet.

The coolant level hasnt changed any, and I do smell coolant when it is running/off, that could be because i spilled some before when i was refill it before.

fire the car till it reaches full temp and wait with the hood up and someone watching the temp gauge and wait for the fan to kick on if it kicks on then check your oil if it is a little white head gasket for sure, it also could be your water pump breaking down with 216 K water pumps have fins on them and ive seen a water pump come out with NO FINS AT ALL, you changed the Thermostat, when is the last time you flushed the rad? when you take the rad cap off can you see the coolant circulating? hope this helps :teeth:

Alright after a couple of days of driving her, the temp hasn;t changed at all, its back to its normal positions, so i think it was just the really hot weather that did it. I'm going to drive into a garage just to have it checked over for safetys sake but I;m 95% sure the head gaskets are good.

the Old 3.8L V6's have water pumps that go on a moment's notice.

Don't be a victim. Change it.

I blew the hell outta the head gasket in my old Cougar and it took a connecting rod with it because the Oil cooked itself.

Bad memories.